Two collections of images in two separate folders (A and B)
Present situation: images in folder A have the same name as folder B, yet are different, something like: IMG_1.jpg … IMG_14.jpg
Ideal solution: Rename all images of folder B starting the first next number from folder A
I presume offering the user the option to manually provided a starting number other than the default (which is 1, 01, or 001) would be the best solution.
For context, I use a default Fedora 40 installation, and I presume this option is part of Nautilus, but I could be mistaken.
Today I was positively surprised I could rename multiple files at once.
Yet, I couldn’t resolve my initial issue (in a time effective manner) because I couldn’t manually set a certain number, as shown above. It would be great if this option would become available in the future.
The real challenge is redesigning of the batch rename dialog in such a way that we can support this while still being easy to use and not overwhelming.
(Search for “batch rename tool” in your favorite images search engine on the web and you’ll see many great examples of overwhelming and hard to use UI.)
I think the choice for starting at something else that 1 (the default) should not be added to the current list as a separate item (primary location). Instead it should come after selecting one of the provided numbering schemes (secondary location)
Two options
Option 1: most easy implementation
The easiest way is to add one extra option with title and spin button (or something like that) above or below the option “Automatic Number Order”. This will add visual complexity but may be a price worth paying for the additional feature.
This spin button should:
Default to 1
Allow for 0
(probably) allow for typing; and in that case shouldn’t be allowed empty
Option 2: my preferred implementation
(see image below)
Use the same implementation of choosing the start number as above. And remove the current sorting option (implemented using a combo box) and replace it with the sorting option like Nautilus does (and any other file manager).
That means:
each column now has a title bar that says something like: ‘Original name’ and ‘New name’
And only one secondary option (for choosing the starting number) is left on the location where the current one is.
This implementation does require an extra column with modified date of the original file. Since this can also be used for sorting, as it presently is.
The question then rises, where to add this column. My suggestion is right of the original file name and left of the new file name.
There might be other ways to solve the implementation of the modified column. Or maybe, ways in which it is less prominent. For example: by allowing this column to be hidden, or by making the text less bright
Thanks for the suggestions. I think that’s roughly the same concept for which a MR has already been proposed, but hasn’t been accepted because it adds too much complexity to resolve an oversight of the original design.
You are right that this solution is minimal, at least from a development point of view: just add a small component while keeping everything else the same.
But we are looking for a minimal design, not a minimal patch. We are not afraid of making large modifications to achieve it.
In fact, this dialog is using outdated design patterns so it needs a design overhaul to make it consistent with GNOME’s current visual language.
This opens an excellent opportunity to get the need for choosing a starting number to be a design goal from the start this time around.
